Hewitt - "no limits to private role in NHS"

So Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt says there will be “no artificial limits” on the role of the private sector in our Health Service.

What on earth does that mean? How could any such limits be anything other than “artificial”? Are there perhaps “natural” limits, set by climate or topography? Our health service is entirely “artificial” in that it was created by people, and is daily recreated by the labour of those employed within it.

What this means is that when Ms Hewitt talks about retaining the values of the NHS all that she means is a service free at the point of use (for now?) She has no commitment to in-house provision of any service. When she says that there are no “artificial” limits to private involvement she simply means that, on her watch, there will be no limits at all.

This comes from a misunderstanding of very simple economics, and the belief that the “market” can somehow automatically bring efficiencies. On the contrary, health services are not the sort of commodities for which this mantra holds true. The arguments against this misconception are neatly summarised in this UNISON pamphlet.

Details of alternative vision for modernising our health care – based on a shift towards prevention and public health, an embedding of collaborative networks and integrated care pathways, the mobilisation of professionalism and a public service ethic, and genuine forms of patient empowerment and public accountability are set out in a number of articles collected together here by Keep Our NHS Public.

This latest reiteration of the threat to our health service demonstrates why we need united opposition to the privatisation plans of New Labour, such as the new NHS together campaign and the established Keep Our NHS Public campaign. If the Labour Party cannot be shifted from its current path then we face the even worse prospect of a Tory Government at the next election.

UNISON members in NHS Logistics, striking tomorrow against privatisation, are leading the way. Good luck to them!

New Labour in legal threat to trade union

Thanks to an even more avid reader of posts from John McDonnell MP I was alerted to the threat of imprisonment against the leaders of the Prison Officers Association because they refuse to repudiate the actions of their members who are refusing to work voluntary overtime.

Keen as ever to provide readers of this blog with a balanced view I hurried to the news page of HM Prison Service, where the latest news, six days old is about a very worthy family friendly prisons initiative. Not so family friendly to those prison officers who are being told their union could face fines because they won’t work voluntary overtime!

Earlier on Tuesday, Colin Moses, national chairman of the POA, said forcing prison officers to work overtime was a breach of their human rights.

"If someone finishes a day at work then they have a human right to come home.”

"The Prison Service is in crisis and my members are fed up to the back teeth of being treated like second-class citizens because of the failings of inept managers, the drive of the Prisons Board to achieve paper targets and efficiencies set by government which will only lead to wholesale problems within the Criminal Justice System."

The POA have now decided to call off their proposed strike. After calling off the strike, POA general secretary Brian Caton said the union would continue to press for the full return of its right to take industrial action, which was taken away under the Conservatives.

What a disgrace to the Labour Party not to have restored that right already!

Criminal justice crisis requires trade union unity

It is alarming to read it today’s Guardian about the crisis in our criminal justice system. According to this report new national offender management service (Noms), which runs prisons and probation services in England and Wales has a £40 million deficit – and the London Probation Service has a £10 million shortfall half way through the financial year.

These financial problems come on top of continual pressure to privatise services, which are familiar to those of us working in local government and in health. With UNISON members also under threat it is obvious that joint union action is needed.

Probation Officers union – NAPO and the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) both supported the joint union Public Services not Private Profit campaign, the success of which helped to contribute to the TUC policy proposed by UNISON last week which calls for a coordinated campaign against privatisation. The sooner the General Council implements this policy the better.

Solidarity with Merseyside Firefighters

I was pleased to have the opportunity to hear first hand from Merseyside firefighters at the TUC in Brighton last week. On Wednesday, the Fire Brigades Union in Merseyside commence four days of strike action.

The first four days will start at 10.00 on 20 September and finish on 10.00 on 24 September and the second set of four days will start at 10.00 on 24 September and finish at 10.00 on 28 September.

The strike is in opposition to proposed cuts which include:

Cutting 120 firefighter posts – one in ten of the workforce –in addition to the 68 posts cut last year;

Introducing a 96 hour week at some fire stations;

Cutting 15 emergency fire control operator posts –one in four of the workforce

Axing four fire engines at night time;

There will be fewer rescue appliances, fewer firefighters on fire engines and a longer wait for crews to arrive at all 999 emergencies.

Good luck comrades…

The real scandal behind the payout

The story in today’s Guardian, about confidential payments allegedly made by the TGWU to a couple of its members is initially shocking. We tend not to think of trade unions as being respondents in litigation and having to make payments – though actually such cases are inevitably not uncommon.

On reflection, and reading between the lines a little, there is a real scandal behind this story. The scandal is that nine years and four months into a Labour Government we still have such illiberal labour laws that trade union members cannot safely take solidarity action.

Not for the first time I find myself agreeing with John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington and leadership contender, who said the size of the payout was "bizarre”.



I agree with John when he says that “this shows the need for a new trade union freedom bill which legalises limited solidarity action by workers in disputes like the Gate Gourmet affair and would have prevented the T&G being put in this position."

Why should trade unionists face dismissal if they are prepared to take solidarity action to show support for brothers and sisters who are victims of injustice?

As I reported last week from the TUC, the union movement is now united in support of the Trade Union Freedom Bill, which has the support of 182 MPs. Now we need to take the campaign back out onto the streets and into the Labour Party. Tony Woodley was right to say at the TUC that workers need unions more than ever. Unions also need legal rights and freedoms to be able to defend workers' interests.

If you are not yet persuaded you can download a detailed briefing from the Institute of Employment Rights at their website.

Solidarity with NHS Logistics strikers

Good luck and best wishes to the UNISON members at NHS Logistics taking strike action next Thursday.

Full details of this dispute are on the UNISON website (from which I have borrowed the picture above). Everyone reading this story who cares about our National Health Service (and wants to avoid a Labour Government picking an unpopular fight with its own supporters!) can lobby your MP!

The combined threats of privatisation and spending cuts in our health service have already inspired unprecedented unity between health unions who have come together to campaign as nhs together.

I hope that this joint union campaign will line up alongside successful established campaigners in Keep Our NHS Public, established by (among others) Health Emergency.

59% of union activists back John McDonnell

The Electoral Reform Society stall at the TUC Congress ran an online poll for delegates to vote for their preferred candidate for Leader of the Labour Party.

Over 200 delegates voted. Alan Johnson got 8%. Gordon Brown got 10%. John McDonnell got 59%.

I think that Union linked MPs should get the message and nominate John to ensure that trade unionists get the chance to vote for a candidate who backs trade union policies.

Otherwise our members will wonder what the point of our link to the Labour Party is. We don't want to be left with a choice between Scylla (Brown) and Charybdis (Johnson)!

Setback for Equality at the TUC

Congress has just had its first card vote of the week. A motion from the TUC LGBT Conference, moved very well by Maria Exall of the CWU, and supported by UNISON, fell by 3,789,000 votes to 2,411,000.

The motion asked for the General Council to listen to the views of the TUC equality conferences, and to consider allowing each equality conference to submit two motions to Congress (rather than just one as at present). It also asked for direct representation for the equality conferences on the General Council.

This disappointing decision is a setback for equality within our movement. I was pleased at least that UNISON stood firm in support of self-organisation.

I am also very pleased that Maria Exall will be on the TUC General Council from today - no doubt she will continue to educate some of the less enlightened unions about equality issues. Good luck Maria!

Health and Safety debate at the TUC

Congress has just agreed a worthy composite on workplace bullying and is now debating a call for a national occupational health scheme for the construction industry. Away from the media circus which surrounded the visit of the Prime Minister on Tuesday the trade union movement is concentrating upon the issues which matter to our members.

The Health and Safety Executive is facing cutbacks as part of Gordon Brown’s continuing attack upon civil service jobs. These cuts really are a matter of life and death for working people.

TUC set to oppose Trident replacement

TUC Congress is currently debating the replacement of Trident nuclear submarines.

UNISON policy is clear – we support the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in opposition to this major unilateral nuclear rearmament backed by right-wing New Labourite Gordon Brown.

The debate is classic TUC. There is a good motion, well moved by Bob Crow from the RMT Union and a wishy washy statement from the General Council. This is to keep the peace between the big unions. The TGWU are backing both the motion and the statement. The GMB are abstaining on the motion and voting for the statement. UNISON is voting for the motion and abstaining on the statement…

Mind you some in the UNISON delegation are wondering when and where we agreed our policy on the General Council statement as we cannot remember having discussed it at a delegation meeting.

We need the whole labour and trade union movement to unite in opposition to the replacement of Trident nuclear submarines, expensive and dangerous white elephants. Today's debate is a step in the right direction.

Public Services Fringe Meeting at the TUC

I haven’t covered much on this blog about fringe meetings this week at the TUC. In fact for most delegates, fringe meetings are the main event since we have no opportunity to speak at Congress itself and are largely spectators.

Indeed UNISON delegates have no forum to express opinions at all after Sunday morning – when we had our one delegation meeting! We may need to look at how we organise our TUC delegation in order to increase its democracy and the accountability for decisions taken in our name.

I was very pleased to attend an excellent and well attended fringe meeting organised by the Public Services Not Private Profit campaign. John McDonnell gave a stirring introduction to the need for a joint union campaign drawing together the different struggles against privatisation in every sector.

John – and a number of General Secretaries of the unions supporting the campaign – have had to play the role that the TUC should have played in pulling this campaign together. Now as a direct result of the success of the campaign, the TUC has agreed on Monday a composite motion instructing the General Council to organise further joint union campaigning activity on this issue.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of PCS, reported on the debates on the General Council – and the problem posed by those who foolishly believe that national demonstrations are not a good idea. Brian Caton of the Prison Officers Association expressed his justified anger at the attitude of some big unions who think it better to campaign on their own, leaving smaller unions aside. I agree that these are serious and legitimate concerns.

Any UNISON activists who would like a model motion for branches on this issue please get in touch!

International Solidarity at the TUC

After putting up with Tony Blair wasting an hour or more of our time yesterday, this morning the TUC is listening to an interesting speaker with something worthwhile to say to us – Thabitha Khumalo of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

Trade unions in Zimbabwe are operating under extremely difficult conditions as they continue to face repression and intimidation. It was the trade union movement that led the call for democratic change in Zimbabwe in the face of the deepening political and economic crisis. As a result there has been a consistent intimidation campaign by the government against trade unionists and workers. Despite this, the unions often remain in the forefront of opposition to Mugabe's policies. There is more information on UNISON’s international site and from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).

Our international guest is giving us far more useful information than Blair did – she also got Congress singing and earned a standing ovation!

TUC discusses the internet!

Who says the trade unions are living in the past?

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) have just put a motion to the Congress in Brighton condemning Google for responding to political pressure to limit access to information on the internet. Jeremy Dear, General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) – in seconding the motion – criticised Yahoo for passing information to the Chinese Government.

Your blogger was so pleased to hear a debate about the internet at the TUC that I was inspired to sign up to Amnesty International’s pledge on internet freedom at the irrepressible.info site

Blair cannot answer on privatisation

In his “question and answer” session at the TUC Blair has just been asked by UNISON, PCS and Prospect delegates about privatisation. He has tried to defend the record of his Government in terms of the increased employment in public services overall. He has then said that voters want to see improved public services.

He has however completely failed to engage with the questions asked – at least two of the questioners explicitly asked why the Government was pro-privatisation. Blair set out his belief that “reform” in public services was necessary but completely failed to answer as to why he believes privatisation will achieve this.

Questioners from the Prison Officers Association and the Probation Officers union have tried to pin him down on details. He is visibly unable to deal with this detail. He has an ideological commitment to privatisation and he cannot see beyond that.

This shows the need for UNISON’s Positively Public campaign and for the joint union Public Services Not Private Profit Campaign.

But it also shows why the unions need to find – and support – a candidate for Labour Leader who supports public services.

Blair picks a fight over foreign policy

Blair clearly sees that his slavish support for neoconservative foreign policy is the major threat to his “legacy” – he is in the process of picking a fight with large sections of the floor of the TUC Congress.

He has just argued that our troops are in Afghanistan and Iraq at the request of the governments of those countries. Since these are governments set up after the Western invasions I think that may not be too suprising.

Watching him speak I can only think of Steve Bell’s cartoon images – this man is delusional (and dangerously Islamophobic from what he is saying).

Blair is awful

Blair really is appallingly bad. Listening to him is positively painful. He has just started droning on about globalisation (working up to a justification for the pitiful ambition of his centre-right Government no doubt).

The RMT delegation walked out as he started speaking, accompanied by some leftwing members of the UNISON delegation. The PCS delegation held up posters in protest but have largely remained in the hall.

A claque of New Labour supporters are trying to start applause from time to time, but in the middle of the UNISON delegation, where your blogger is sitting, he is being heard mostly in silence.

Blair says that people are fearful because of globalisation and terrorism. I am fearful because of the capitulation of the parties of the left to the ideology of the market – and he embodies that capitulation more than any other living individual.

Why on earth did the General Council think it was a good idea to invite this pillock?

What's going on at the TUC on Tuesday morning?

It’s Tuesday morning at Congress and we are debating Employment Rights. Tony Woodley has just explained why the General Council has “reservations” about a composite motion (number 5) which we are about to pass in favour of the Trade Union Freedom Bill.

The one thing everyone is talking about here in Brighton is the one thing that isn’t on the agenda – the Labour leadership. For the first time we have had our bags scanned coming in (to protect the safety of one Anthony Blair).

John McDonnell has been very well received at fringe meetings, including those called last night by the Institute of Employment Rights and by the Stop the War Coalition. The General Secretary of AMICUS is reported as backing Gordon Brown, but without (your blogger understands) any mandate from his Union for allowing his views to be spun in that way.

The coffee bar gossip has it that there has been a major falling out between the General Secretaries of AMICUS and the TGWU arising out of this development. Given that Gordon Brown backs privatisation and Trident nuclear submarines it is difficult to see why any self-respecting trade unionist would want to back him.

The other discussion among delegates is what to do this afternoon when we receive a farewell speech from Anthony. Bob Crow has announced that the RMT delegation will walk out, and a number of leftwing delegates appear to agree with this view. Other ideas include wearing slogan t-shirts.

In the event that I manage my laptop battery more successfully today than I did yesterday I will let you know later what happens…

New campaign to defend our NHS

The new campaigning coalition NHS Together, was launched this lunchtime at a fringe meeting. The campaign is supported by all the trade unions and professional associations in the health service and reflects the unprecedented mobilisation taking place around the country in opposition to health cuts and privatisation.

UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, who spoke at the fringe meeting, has just moved Composite 9 seeking the full support of the TUC for this campaign, which will certainly be forthcoming. Dave announced that the UNISON members in NHS Logisitics have returned a large majority for strike action in their ballot – he had already told the fringe meeting that UNISON will be mounting a legal challenge to the privatisation of NHS Logistics.

Dave also said that a key test of any candidates for Labour leader would be how they deal with the crisis affecting the NHS…

TUC pledges support for Local Government Pension fight

Congress has just passed Composite 6 on pensions having heard from a stream of speakers from various unions reporting on the fight to defend pension rights across their industries and sectors.

UNISON Vice President Carole Maleham spoke to pledge that our fight to defend the Local Government Pension Scheme continues – and pointing out that there would be further industrial action if we did not get an acceptable deal.

Some local government activists here on the UNISON delegation have been discussing the need for a Special Local Government Service Group Conference to agree on any recommendation to put to members in a ballot.

Pensions debate starts Congress

The Conference Centre is filling up for the first morning of the TUC – we are set to debate pensions. Thanks to a UNISON amendment the Composite motion on Pensions (Composite 6) calls on the General Council to back the unions fighting to defend the Local Government Pension Scheme.

UNISON activists need to consider how we take that fight forward so that we take action to give the General Council something to support!

TUC General Council doubtful about revolution shock...?

The General Council of the TUC are currently seeking remission of Motion 73 on Venezuela, proposed by the National Union of Journalists (which you can read in the Congress Agenda).

As this motion is not due for debate until Wednesday morning there will be time for further horse trading and it was reported to this morning’s meeting of the UNISON delegation that UNISON would be deferring taking a decision for the time being.

It is difficult to see how we could do other than support the motion in view of UNISON’s clear Conference Policy on Venezuela. We should certainly be sending a clear message of solidarity to the people of Venezuela.

No doubt we will be discussing this subject at the TUC’s Latin America Night on Monday and at the fringe meetings called by the Venezuela Information Centre on Monday lunchtime and by Hands Off Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon.

UNISON TUC delegation arrives...

UNISON delegates to the TUC have to arrive in Brighton on Saturday in order to be at a delegation meeting at 10.30am.

This year the meeting lasted all of half an hour! There was little debate or controversy - local government NEC member Glenn Kelly asked a sensible question about what questions UNISON was going to ask in the Prime Minister's "Question and Answer" session on Tuesday afternoon. The Chair of the Policy Committee responded characteristically that it was obvious that we would be asking about privatisation.

Newer lay delegates are currently drinking (coffee!) on the beach with your blogger and expressing concern about the cost to our members of our having to arrive a day early for a delegation meeting of this nature.

Still, the sun is shining... :)

Time for Congress

TUC delegates are gathering on the seafront for a wild, wild time!

The papers for this year’s Annual meeting of the Trades Union Congress – which kicks off on Monday in Brighton - are now all available, including the Congress timetable, Composites motions and details of fringe meetings.

Your blogger, who will be on the UNISON delegation, is hoping to hear more about the unions campaigns to defend the NHS and to defend public services.

As Congress is not always thrill a minute stuff, I’ll blog only the best bits. Tony Blair’s reception by delegates may be interesting…

Always assuming I can get in – photo ID is being demanded for the first time at Congress this year (which is ironic since the report of the TUC General Council records the opposition of the TUC to ID cards!)

Mentally ill march to save community care

This news just in from Health Emergency:


What: Demonstration and march with banners and props

Where: Kennington Park (Oval) SE11 to Windrush Square, Brixton, SW2

Who: Users of psychiatric services in Lambeth & Southwark

Why: To protest against plans to axe £millions from mental health services

When: Meet Kennington Park (Camberwell New Road entrance)

1.30-2.00pm Saturday 9 September 2006

1.45 – photo opportunity with drums and banners



Psychiatric service users across Lambeth and Southwark are uniting against plans to axe vital mental health services. Lambeth Primary Care Trust and Southwark Primary Care Trust have announced that they intend to “disinvest” a total of £6million in the current financial year with a further £2million scheduled for 2007-2008.



Resources under threat range from specialist services for older people and children, to nursing homes and crisis services. Proposals to close the renowned Emergency Clinic at the Maudsley Hospital are so controversial they have been referred to the Secretary of State by the Joint Health Scrutiny Committee of Lambeth and Southwark Councils. (1)


Lambeth and Southwark are both areas with higher than average levels of mental illness (2) and campaigners fear that local services will not be able to cope if funding cuts go ahead. “We are terrified that these cuts will damage some of the most vulnerable people in our community for whom mental health services can mean the difference between life and death” says Mary Roberts, Chair of Lambeth Mental Health and Disabled People’s Action Group (3).



“The government claims that mental health services are a funding priority but this is obviously not the case in Southwark and Lambeth” says Teresa Priest, Co-ordinator of Southwark Mind. “This is short sighted penny pinching which will cost lives”.

UNISON Rule D.3.4.11 and the fight for our pensions

There has been some discussion of convening a meeting across Service Groups to look at the impasse in the pensions dispute. However the rules only allow for a special service group Conference convened in a particular way. I think the attached motion might do the business but would welcome comments!

Local Government Pension Scheme dispute

This Branch/Branch Committee resolves to submit the attached motion to the national head of local government on 1 November 2006 in accordance with Rule D.3.4.11;

“In accordance with Rule D.3.4.11, we call for a special Service Group Conference to discuss the following motion;

‘This Conference instructs the Service Group Executive (SGE) to make a definite recommendation to members in any ballot on the future of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

We instruct the SGE to recommend opposition to any proposals which fail to deliver, at an absolute minimum, full protection for the rights of existing scheme members..

In the event that the SGE is not able to recommend support for Government proposals for our pensions, in accordance with the spirit of this motion, we resolve to instruct the Service Group Executive to take all appropriate steps to organise sustained national industrial action in support of our objectives.’”

Comments please!

Say NO to racism and fascism in Barking and Dagenham

The following is from an Email circular received yesterday evening - for anyone who can get to Barking this evening...

Say NO to racism and fascism in Barking and Dagenham
Wednesday 6th September 2006,
5.30pm onwardsProtest outside the Barking & Dagenham council meeting at Barking Town HallClockhouse Avenue, IG11 7LU Nearest train/tube: Barking

called by Barking & Dagenham Alliance Against Rascism & Fascism
supported by SERTUC and the TGWU Region 1 (South and East Anglia Region)

Since the British National Party (BNP) has targeted our borough, there has been a rise in the number of racist attacks, including two stabbings and other violent assaults since the local elections.

Barking Race Equality Council (BREC) which collates statistics for racist incidents in the borough have recorded a year on year rise since 2002: in 2002/3, a total of 413 racist incidents were recorded by BREC, an average of 34.4 incidents a month. In 2003/4, the figure went up to 486 (monthly average 40.5), 2004/5, they increase by over 200 incidents in the year to 693 (57.75 incidents a month), in 2005/6, 699 incidents were recorded (58.25) and 2006/7, 248 incidents have already been recorded in the first four months from April 2006, averaging 62 incidents a month.

These figures show that, in the 2 years between 2004 and 2006, racist incidents recorded by BREC have increased by a shocking 71.9%. This corresponds with increased BNP acitivity in the area. In June 2004 the BNP recorded by far the highest vote averaging 20.5% in the Barking and Dagenham borough in the London Assembly elections, in September 2004 the BNP gained a councillor in Goresbrook with over 50% of the vote, the BNP recorded 16.89% - the highest vote - in the Barking constituency in the general election 2005 (up from 6.4% in 2001, when Barking was one of the five constituencies where the BNP saved their deposit). By contrast, the same period saw a year on year fall in the number of racist attacks recorded by the Met Police across London.

Since May's local council elections, the BNP has 12 council seats in Barking and Dagenham, the highest number of BNP councillors in any single authority in the country.The BNP is a racist organisation: in Barking, they spread racist lies about African communities in order to win votes.The BNP is a fascist group: in several documentaries, key BNP members have been filmed praising Hitler and the Nazis. Fascism and the Nazis are responsible for the mass murder of millions of people, who they tried to systematically annihilate. We call on all those who are concerned at the advances by the BNP in Barking and Dagenham to join us in a protest outside the full council meeting. We will call similar protests regularly to ensure that the anti-BNP message is heard.

To add your support to this protest, please contact bdaarf@yahoo.co.uk

Barking & Dagenham Alliance Against Racism and Fascism “ Barking & Dagenham Alliance Against Racism and Fascism (B&DAARF) is a black* organisation of community groups, local community activists, public and voluntary sector workers, trade unionists and many others concerned at the rise of racism and fascist activity in the borough.

(*The term black in this context is used to refer to people of African, Caribbean, Asian and other visible minority origins with a common experience of racism and discrimination.)

May 2006 local elections have been accompanied by a number of serious racist attacks in Barking and Dagenham. Racist myths about African communities have been used to advance racist politics and Islamophobia has been whipped up with the sole aim of causing division and stoking up hatred. B&DAARF is opposed to these very worrying developments and exists to challenge them in an equal alliance with all others similarly concerned with the recent events. B&DAARF welcomes support and solidarity from and will work with other organisations and individuals in the borough that support its aims."

To show your support for this statement please email bdaarf@yahoo.co.uk

Stop New Labour's crazy privatisation of NHS Logistics

The BBC report that the Government have decided to privatise NHS Logistics to DHL. As the BBC put it; “the move is the biggest example of what some regard as creeping NHS privatisation”. Let’s be clear, there is no reason on earth why the private sector should be able to handle supplying our hospitals better than a dedicated in-house service.

Only the most twisted ideologue would believe that a private company will automatically be more efficient – and in practical terms there is not a single thing which they can do which could not be done by the public sector. The one thing the public sector cannot do is make a profit for private shareholders.

UNISON is campaigning against this privatisation and balloting for strike action by our members employed by NHS Logistics. If you want to help the Government avoid this foolish and massively unpopular step you can lobby your MP. You can also download a poster explaining UNISON’s campaign in English and Polish.

DHL have had problems in their relations with unions in the past – last year GMB members had to threaten strike action. The Government’s obsession with privatisation now threatens further strife. It shows why we need to keep our NHS public – and why we need better policies and different leadership for this “Labour” Government.

Nice one Bob!

Full marks to the RMT Union for organising a national Conference for union activists on 28 October. RMT's annual general meeting instructed the union to organise a national shop stewards' conference, open to all trade unionists, with one of its focuses being to build support for a Trade Union Freedom Bill.

The depth and breadth of grass-roots organisation of workplace reps has always been a crucial barometer of the general health of the trade-union movement. Speakers include Bob Crow and representatives from T&G, CWU, PCS, NUJ, NUM, CYWU, FBU and BFAWU.

DATE/TIME: Saturday October 28, 11.30am to 3.30pm
PLACE: Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1H 9JE

To register, email j.croy@rmt.org.uk, or write to RMT, Unity House, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD

Support Whipps Cross strikers

We all need to be focusing on how to build and develop our support for the strikers at Whipps Cross hospital who are on strike because their employer, Rentokil Initial is failing to honour an agreement. Initial had problems with cleaning at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust last year. Last year the company also avoided a takeover bid.

I also note, from a little research on the internet that this is an employer which knows that electronic campaigning can support workers’ rights. I found an article by Steve Davies in People Management, September 1998 (online here) which includes the following;

“At the CBI's Annual Dinner in May, Sir Clive Thompson, Chief Executive of Rentokil-Initial said: "a third party that comes between employer and employee can only interfere... and harm our drive for quality". On 15 June, FIET, the international union federation, launched an internet-based campaign against Rentokil-Initial, demanding it allow it's British employees representation on the company European Works Council. Two days later, the company contacted FIET to arrange talks which began on 1 July…

…Flying pickets may have disappeared but it looks as though cyberpickets are here to stay. Ask Rentokil-Initial.”

I am therefore very pleased that an earlier post on this blog was published by labourstart and is therefore now featured on the news page of the UNISON website. This arose from a number of lay UNISON activists in the London region agreeing to go along and express solidarity with the strikers.



So let’s get on with the solidarity! Send messages of support to the strikers’ union branch at unisonunion@tiscali.co.uk.Send donations (cheques payable to UNISON) to Chris Remington, Regional Head of Health, UNISON Greater London Region, Congress House, Great Russell Street. London WC1.

Support low paid strikers against multinational employer!

Having been very happy to support the strikers at Whipps Cross Hospital earlier this week, I have been looking into the company that employs them – Rentokil Initial. I was particularly struck by some of things Rentokil Initial have to say about corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“Rentokil Initials principal asset is people. Our success is entirely dependent on the efforts of the 90 000 (approx) people we employ around the world.” Does this include the workers at Whipps Cross I wonder?

“A strength at Rentokil Initial has always been its people management.” Does that include causing strike action at Whipps Cross hospital?

“The board as a whole is responsible for ensuring that social and ethical considerations form part of the management function at all levels and Doug Flynn, Chief Executive, is the main board director with responsibility for CSR matters.” Is it ethical to refuse to honour an agreement to play fair by low paid workers I wonder?

Not everything in the garden is rosy as operating profits for the company were down 10% in the first half of 2006. The company attracted criticism last year when it closed its defined benefits pensions scheme in the UK.

Still, Mr Flynn, the recently appointed Chief Executive will probably survive. According to the company’s 2005 Annual Report, when he was appointed, “a one-off award was put in place at the time of his appointment to facilitate the recruitment of the chief executive at a time of significant transformation of the business.”

“An award of £2.4 million was made in compensation for awards forfeited. This has been paid one third in cash and two thirds in Rentokil Initial shares. The unconditional cash element of the award (£0.8 million) was paid in two equal instalments, with the first due after six months in employment and the second due after 12 months in employment.”

Then there was his transformation incentive award – “the award is in respect of 2,609,263 shares (the number of shares being calculated by reference to the value of five times Mr Flynn’s base salary of £800,000 on appointment).”

On August 31st, NHS domestic, Lorna Ayeh challenged Millionaire Chief Executive, Doug Flynn, about Rentokil’s subsidiary, Initial Hospital Services Ltd, reneging on a pay deal that guaranteed her at least £7.40 per hour by April 1st 2006. She currently earns £5.52 per hour.

Doug, who has been at the helm of Rentokil/Initial since April 2005 was reported to have earned £2.1 million in his first nine months with the UK multinational. At their current rates of pay it would take Lorna 195 years to earn what Doug has earned in his first 9 months.

Lorna didn’t ask Doug to take less for himself out of the Rentokil pot she just asked Initial to honour the agreement that was made three years ago to give her equal pay with her colleagues in the NHS by April 1st 2006.

"If you make a deal you expect people to keep it but that has not been the case with Initial Hospital Services Ltd" says Lorna who is justifiably angered by the company's refusal to honour the pay agreement made in 2003. "London is great if you can afford it. But you can't have much fun on £5.52 an hour. The £7.40 I was promised would have helped me but the company has let me down. It's simple. What they are doing is wrong and I am not going to let them get away with it!".

Lorna and her colleagues who are employed by Initial Hospital Services Ltd (RENTOKIL GROUP) leafletted outside Rentokil's HQ in Belgravia (Buckingham Palace Road) from 9.00am to 1.00pm on Thursday August 31st to distribute information about Lorna’s case.

So the company which cannot afford to honour its agreement with the Whipps Cross strikers (or so it says) and which has closed its pension scheme, can still find some rewards (you can see which of its people it really thinks of as a “principal asset”!) This is what the Tory/New Labour policy of privatisation means in practice.

Companies like Rentokil Initial are trying to take profits out of our National Health Service. This is why we need to support UNISON’s campaign to defend the health service, and organisations like Keep Our NHS Public.

Also please send donations to support the strikers to Chris Remington, Regional Head of Health, UNISON Greater London Region, Congress House, Great Russell Street, LONDON WC1B 3LS (cheques payable to UNISON)!

Whipps Cross Strikers need our support!

I was very happy to join striking workers on the picket line outside Whipps Cross Hospital this morning. The BBC website explains what their dispute is about.

I was greatly encouraged by the strength and determination of the strikers. The media have reported that the employers have made an offer to settle the strike – but may have forgotten to mention that this is not an offer to pay all the money the strikers are owed!

The contractor which pays staff working at Whipps Cross barely more than the minimum wage is not a cash strapped concern – they manage to shell out £2.2 Million a year for their Chief Executive! Perhaps this important fact will get noticed by the media tomorrow…

I have blogged before about this important dispute, in which low paid workers are fighting to ensure that a private contractor honours a deal done with a previous contractor. It is important for all workers that the strikers win, so that privateers cannot make their profits at the expense of cutting the pay and conditions of the workforce.

Those who support the Tory/New Labour policy of privatisation need to know that they support the making of profits out of the exploitation of low paid workers. The Whipps Cross strikers and their UNISON branch are in the front line of opposition to those who want our health service to be driven by profit.

If you are reading this then you ought to support this dispute.

Send messages of support to the strikers’ union branch at unisonunion@tiscali.co.uk.

Send donations (cheques payable to UNISON) to Chris Remington, Regional Head of Health, UNISON Greater London Region, Congress House, Great Russell Street. London WC1.

International Solidarity (the good news)

I’ve just posted a couple of international stories in quick succession, both dealing with problems affecting the trade union movement (from Australia to Zimbabwe).

I thought therefore I should post a link to the campaign in solidarity with the people of Venezuela, who offer hope to us all.

UNISON policy is to support the colossal advances being made by the Venezuelan Revolution under President Hugo Chavez in carrying out policies, which benefit working people, the poor and the landless. That sounds good to me!

In looking for solidarity websites I found Hands Off Venezuela, the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign and the Venezuela Information Centre.

Let’s hope we can all unite in a good cause comrades – and let’s not forget to fight for socialism in the UK too!

International solidarity (to Z)

This news comes from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), courtesy of a comrade on the Regional International Committee of UNISON, kept informed by UNISON’s International Department.

Wellington Chibebe, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was recently released on bail. Unfortunately, the charges against him have not been dropped, and he is due to appear in court on 4 September.

M. Chibebe was arrested at a roadblock on August 15 and detained at Waterfalls Police station. The police demanded to search his car, supposedly in order to look for cash. The Government is currently campaigning to prevent currency speculation while it is conducting a major monetary reform purportedly aiming at fighting hyperinflation, which currently stands at over 1000%. At first, Chibebe was accused of resisting a police search. According to ZCTU legal sources, however, the police later deliberately changed the charges to common assault against a police officer so as to make the issue more serious, given his profile.

The ZCTU are now calling for a national strike to protest the government's skewed economic policies, specifically a sharp hike in fuel prices last week that they say has made it too expensive for most workers to travel to their jobs.

International Solidarity (from A)

This news is just in from LabourStart.

The Howard government in Australia is one of the most anti-union in the
world, breaking new ground in its efforts to smash the trade union movement in that country.

Among its first victims are 107 construction workers, who are being prosecuted for alleged "illegal" industrial action following the sacking of a union delegate.

According to Kevin Reynolds, Secretary of the West Australian Branch of the CFMEU union, "Under the Howard Government, the basic right to vote to take strike action in support of better conditions and a safe workplace has now been criminalised."

The workers made their first appearance in court yesterday (Monday). They are asking workers around the world to mobilize and send messages of protest to government officials today.

Click this link to go to LabourStart and show your solidarity.

Tory victory? No thanks.

Today’s Guardian boasts a column by one Peter Wilby, former editor of the New Statesman, in which he predicts that the Tories will win the next General Election and says he thinks that that is a good thing!

Regular readers of this blog (all four of you…) will know that I am no fan of New Labour and want to see real change in the Labour Party – to the extent of supporting a socialist challenge for the Labour leadership.

However, to welcome the prospect of a Tory victory is daft beyond words. If you are in any doubt check out the policies of a Party committed to cutting hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs and eliminating regulations that protect workers rights.

I don’t suppose Peter Wilby is a low paid worker who will suffer even worse under the Tories than under New Labour. Someone who only aspires to commentate upon events can have the luxury of sitting back and watching as things get worse (particularly if they can sit back on the cushion of relative wealth and comfort).

Working people cannot afford a Tory Government - which is why we need to replace New Labour with a Labour Government. Peter can dismiss John McDonnell as a no hope candidate, but a candidate broadly sharing his politics got more than 50% of the votes in the recent elections to Labour's NEC.

And whilst John may be older than Blair the crucial difference is that he is promoting new and exciting politics, whereas "New" Labour is so far past its sell by date it is smelling very bad now.
However, with the opinion polls suggesting that we could see another Tory Government, it is increasingly urgent that the unions and the Labour Party membership act to reclaim the Party from New Labour.

Cornwall shows the way to defend our NHS

When there are thousands marching in Cornwall I think it is time to wake up to the fact that the threat to our NHS is nationwide.

UNISON members at NHS logistics are fighting privatisation. I’ve blogged before about other campaigns. In particular I look forward to joining the picket line at Whipps Cross Hospital on Wednesday 30 August.

What are nice trade unionists like us doing in a Labour Party like this?

Having written the last post on this blog I got to thinking about how little benefit the trade union movement has had from the “New” Labour Government since 1997 and that lead me to thinking about the question of what our unions are doing being associated with the Labour Party…

The friendly folk at the Socialist Unity website asked me for my views. So I explained why I think socialists should be active in the Labour Party.

I believe this because there is a viable socialist organisation within the Labour Party and because the Labour left has found a standard bearer willing to challenge for leadership of the Party – which means that we can try to force socialist ideas onto the Party’s agenda. The recent results of the elections to the Party’s National Executive give some grounds for optimism.

I know that many good trade unionists have given up on the Party and have other ideas about how to organise politically, whether in coalitions or new parties. I sympathise with and respect these comrades but disagree.

It is 100 years since the Party created by the trade unions became a serious force. We need a political voice more than ever if we are going to fight for trade union rights or against privatisation. I really don’t see why we should abandon the Party we created and go away and try to build a new one – when the majority of Party members who voted in the last elections to the National Executive backed left wing candidates.

We need a campaign around a Labour leadership candidate who will stand for what we believe in…

Is the TUC General Council meeting the challenges it faces?

The annual report of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has been published. The picture above may not be of the most recent General Council… ;)

In his introduction, the General Secretary of the TUC, Brendan Barber, says;

“Despite the efforts of unions and some genuine improvements in employment legislation over the past nine years, not least the introduction and uprating of the minimum wage, too many workers in Britain today are vulnerable to exploitation by rogue employers. Many are migrant workers, new to this country with little knowledge of their rights. Many are young - often students trying to work their way through college. A considerable number are employed by agencies with more limited legal rights than those on permanent contracts who often work alongside them.

These workers need better rights. They need trade union support. Above all they need their voice to be heard. And that is why, at this Congress, we are launching a new 'vulnerable workers campaign', bringing together the different work currently being done by unions and the TUC into a campaign which we hope will have a major impact; striking a chord with both the public and government; and leading to genuine improvements in the workplace.”

These are laudable sentiments – and the trade union movement certainly needs to reach out and organise the unorganised. I worry that the top of the trade union movement is a bit complacent about the current state of our movement. The recently published report of the findings from the 2004 Workplace Employee Relations Survey shows that only a third of workers are in trade unions and that almost two-thirds of workplaces (64 per cent) had no union members, and that union members made up a majority of the workforce in only one-sixth (18 per cent) of all workplaces.

In 1998, 57 per cent of workplaces had no union members and union members made up the majority of the workforce in 22 per cent of workplaces. Compared to the 1998 survey overall union density (the proportion of workers who are union members) has fallen, slightly, from 36% to 34% during the period of (New) Labour Government. These figures aren’t necessarily accurate – other recent research suggests current union density could be as low as 29% (in 2005) – although that research suggests an increase of 0.2% from 2004.

What is clear is that we have not experienced the sort of recovery in union membership we were hoping for over recent years. So the TUC does need to reach out to vulnerable workers. I read somewhere that it would help if the TUC would back an amnesty for undocumented migrant workers. Anyone reading this who is not already a trade union member should join. UNISON members should sign up to recruit new members as part of the Union’s Challenge X campaign.

Setback for NHS privatisation

Good news from the UNISON website. The NHS has been told to ditch plans to hand a Derbyshire GP practice over to a US multinational firm – thanks to a pioneering legal fight by pensioner Pam Smith.The Court of Appeal quashed the selection of United Health Europe – the British arm of the biggest US healthcare corporation – to run the practice, and ordered North Eastern Derbyshire primary care trust to start the tendering process from scratch.

This is a good result for the Keep Our NHS Public campaign and for UNISON’s campaign to keep our NHS working.

Remembering slavery

I was very pleased to attend yesterday’s event, organised by the Greater London UNISON Regional Black Members Committee as part of the Remembrance Day for Slavery.

This event was held to implement and support UNISON’s policy, which is that there should be a national day to commemorate the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition, just as there (rightly) is to commemorate the Holocaust.

It was good to be reminded of the work of CLR James on the slave revolt in Haiti in the 1790s, and also to hear from today’s campaigners against slavery.

The wealth of Europe and North America in particular was built on the slavery and oppression of African people kidnapped from their homes and subject to the most appalling treatment. This is not simply a piece of history, because its consequences are all around us. When slave owning was abolished in the 1830s, compensation was paid to the owners. Nothing was given to the former slaves to compensate them.

Next year it will be 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade in Britain, so now is a good time to find out more as well as to support the campaign.

Support the Whipps Cross Strikers!

Low paid privatised workers at Whipps Cross Hospital in East London are taking further strike action for three days from next Wednesday (30 August).

The strike concerns the refusal of Initial (the current contractor) to honour an agreement on harmonisation reached with ISS Mediclean (the former contractor) following strike action in 2003.

The strikers have already taken several days of action, and the picket lines have been well supported by 220 strikers out of 242 balloted!

For those who are near enough to London, please support the picket lines at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone from 6am to 6pm on each day (Wednesday to Friday). A number of London branches will try to get there with their banners at 8.30am on Wednesday, but the strikers can use our support at any time.

Wherever you are in the world you can also support the dispute by sending donations (cheques payable to UNISON) to UNISON Greater London Regional Office, First Floor, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS. Please be sure to indicate that this is a donation for the strikers in the Waltham Forest Health Branch!

Cash donations can, of course, be handed over on the picket line!

TUC Congress agenda published

The final agenda for this year’s TUC Congress has been published and is available to download at the TUC website. The process of “grouping” or compositing motions will mean that there will be considerable further change before Congress opens in three weeks time. The main media interest in Congress has been about the likely reception for Tony Blair. Certainly the motions put down by UNISON for this year’s Congress are rightly and sharply critical of Government policy.

As avid readers of this blog (all three of you ;) ) will know, I was keen to see the sensible proposal for an “amnesty” for so-called “illegal” migrants get discussed, but was knocked back at the UNISON delegation meeting on the grounds (essentially) that there was not yet a sufficient consensus for this demand (although it is supported by both UNISON and the TGWU) and that as TUC policy was “inching forward” in our direction it was better not to push the issue at this year’s Congress.

Whilst it is pleasing to see that the level of union interest in organising migrant workers is such that the worthy motion from the Educational Institute of Scotland has drawn helpful and supportive amendments from USDAW, UCATT, UCU and the Bakers’ Union, I think it is a shame the union movement is moving so slowly towards support for sustainable regularisation of the position of undocumented workers. Without this, attempts to organise migrant workers whose legal position is insecure can easily be undermined by the unscrupulous employers who are exploiting migrant workers.

Thanks to the Government’s underestimate of inward migration from Eastern Europe, the debate about migration is being run from the political right at the moment (as I suppose it almost always is) – and the chances of shifting this New Labour shower in the sensible direction of an amnesty is slim enough between now and the next General Election.

I hope that the TUC doesn't "inch" towards our position so slowly that we lose the opportunity to free thousands of migrant workers from the fear of deportation.

New Labour in its dotage endangers our health service

As Blair staggers through the final months of his tenure as Prime Minister there is no let up in the push to privatise our health service. Yesterday’s Guardian reports on plans for six new hospitals built using the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) whilst other hospitals face closure (including Central Middlesex hospital shown above).

Mike Jackson, senior national officer for Unison, is quoted in the Guardian as follows: "Using PFI to finance these schemes is a waste of taxpayers' money. PFI schemes are expensive, inflexible and adding to the current financial burdens of many hospital trusts." We also know that there is no public support for further privatisation, based on recent opinion poll evidence.

UNISON members are preparing for action to defend our NHS from Cornwall to South London and for a strike against the privatisation of NHS logistics. Why should UNISON members have to be doing this under what is supposed to be a Labour Government?

Meanwhile Stephen Byers (who is famously not too keen on the unions’ relationship with the Party) thinks the Government’s priority should be to end inheritance tax! This lack of focus by one of Blair’s chief outriders on the real issues confronting the country shows just how out of touch the Blairites now are. Unfortunately they are still calling the shots in Government.

I am sure I read somewhere that we on the left were not in favour of inherited wealth :)

We are not the fat cats!

Contrary to what you might read in the Tory press – public servants are certainly not pay and pensions fat cats (as illustrated…)

Gordon Brown (the person some of our union leaders dream of “influencing”) wants to force the supposedly independent pay review bodies to hold public sector pay rises down to 2% according to the Guardian. This is the day after it was reported that bonuses paid out in the City now total £19 billion!

While trying to hold down public sector pay, the Government want to see increased pension contributions even from those whose pension rights are being protected – like health workers and teachers. At the same time, the Association of British Insurers have written to directors of our largest private companies to complain about over generous pension pay outs for company directors.

This is the sort of thing which makes me think we need a socialist candidate for leader of the Labour Party, who can be relied upon to promote the interests of trade unionists before those of the overpaid city fat cats – John McDonnell springs to mind!

Keep up the fight for local government pensions!

Avid readers of this blog (both of them) will remember that I reported on the first of UNISON’s Regional Pensions Briefings in the South East Region. I have now heard from the Yorkshire and Humberside Region as follows;

Delegates had a lot of questions and expressed a good deal of concern and dissatisfaction from members over the loss of momentum on protection of retirement at 60. When the top table tried to cut this off in order to split us up into workshops to discuss 'why is protection important?' there was, basically, a rebellion - we refused.

They were forced to re-jig the agenda to give more time for debate and feedback and more discussion of how to revive the campaign for full protection. Apparently this will re-shape the remaining Regional briefings, and I suspect there'll be some feedback to Mabledon Place about stroppy Yorkshire folk too.. Don't know if they'll want to come up here again!

UNISON members in the Greater London Region will be meeting tomorrow for the Regional Pensions Briefing. I’ll miss this as I will be on the beach.

It does seem to me that as well as asking why we should accept any of the Government’s options for the future of our pension scheme, we do need to ensure that we are continuing to fight for the full protection which a million workers struck for on 28 March.

I look forward to hearing how the event tomorrow goes!

Solidarity with the Prison Officers Association

I was pleased to read the news that members of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) have voted to strike – in spite of the refusal of the New Labour Government to restore their right to strike, which was removed by the Tories. I read this this morning in the Morning Star.

With only a handful of votes left to be counted, nearly 15,000 members have backed action and 2,400 voted against. The union has described the dispute as being over the independence of the pay review body and claims its members have seen a pay cut. According to the BBC, the Prison Service said it was a matter of grave concern that the POA might act in breach of a legally-binding accord.

I think it is a matter of grave concern that our Labour Government hasn’t fully restored the democratic rights of trade unionists which were taken from them – and which Labour was pledged to restore when in opposition.

The threat of legal action against the POA if they carry out the wishes of their members is a good indication of why we need the Trade Union Freedom Bill, in line with UNISON policy.

I hope UNISON, and other unions, will show solidarity with the POA.

Will they still need us when we're 64?

The Beatles’ wondered whether we would still be needed when we were 64.

A TUC report today reveals that over one million 50 - 65 year olds who want to work can't get a job because employers won't recruit older workers or retain the ones they already employ by investing in training or making minor adjustments for disabilities.

For those of us who are approaching that age (which is all of us) these are worrying findings. On the one hand the Government want us to work further into old age – on the other hand, the employers won’t actually employ those who aren’t in the first flush of youth!

This is in spite of some fairly sensible advice from the Government being available on the web.

Those of us who are negotiating regularly about redundancies (which is far too many of us in the unions I fear!) need to be on the ball about defending the rights of our older members, and ensuring employment opportunities for the over 50s.

Campaign for the Trade Union Freedom bill.

The RMT has called a National Shop Stewards conference on Saturday 28th October, 12 - 3pm, at the Camden Centre in London.

The main discussion will be on the campaign for the Trade Union Freedom billThe conference will be open to delegates from Trade Union branches, trade union councils, and joint union committees. This follows on from the conference on working class representation organised by the RMT last January, where Bob Crow spoke about the need to build a shop stewards movement as part of rebuilding the trades union movement.

I hope UNISON Branches send delegates to this conference I would certainly encourage they did so.

We will post more information as it becomes available

Workers of the World Unite?

Today’s Guardian has an interesting piece on trade union responses to globalisation, based largely on how the GMB and SEIU (Service Employees International Union from the USA) have been dealing with Group 4 Securicor and showing solidarity with workers employed by the company elsewhere in the world. (http://money.guardian.co.uk/workweekly/story/0,,1842717,00.html).

This set me thinking about how we should be developing our international work as trade unionists in public services. Our traditional approach to international work is to show solidarity – this is defined on the UNISON international website as follows; “Solidarity means speaking out when fellow trade unionists are under threat - in Colombia, Burma or Zimbabwe, for instance. Solidarity also means helping sister trade unions to build their organisations on their own terms.”

This is an important part of our obligation as part of a global labour movement. However, trade union international work is generally controlled very much from the top of the union and is about as distant from accountability to the rank and file as anything we do. There is a degree of cynicism about international delegations, which are seen by some activists as holidays for a favoured few.

Some delegations, such as the recent delegation to Venezuela are clearly very useful in building links and gathering information (see the report on the web at; http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org.uk/ven/web/articles/tu_delegation_dec_2005.html). Another example of a useful project is the delegation from UNISON’s Greater London Region which recently visited the Dhaka Water Union and the National Electricity Union in Bangladesh, as was the recent visit to London by South African comrades from NEHAWU.

However, in other cases, delegations made up through the complex mixture of patronage and “buggin’s turn” which is widely favoured in our movement seem to be of more limited value.

From a practical point of view, trade unions don’t have the resources to send loads of people travelling round the world – and now that we have the internet to organise with, we don’t need to in order to coordinate our activities.

We need to explore more concrete organisational relationships if we are going to deal effectively with global employers. UNISON’s twinning relationship with Ver.Di – the largest German union, may offer a glimpse of the way forward, given our common interests (e.g. http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B1846.pdf). The SEIU are also obviously thinking ahead in this area (http://www.seiu.org/about/global%5Fpartnerships/).

But what should we be doing? Are we heading for “international” unions, or for some other form of coordination? How different are the challenges facing predominantly private sector and predominantly public sector trade unions? Can we extend “twinning” to the level of branches and shop stewards – and should we?

UNISON renews ceasfire call

UNISON's TUC delegation meeting today endorsed the action of our General Secretary in sending a letter to MPs reiterating our call for our Government to demand a ceasfire in the war in Lebanon.
In a letter to Labour MPs today, general secretary Dave Prentis voiced the union’s feelings about the “humanitarian catastrophe” and urged them to put pressure on Tony Blair “to make an unequivocal call for an immediate ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah.
“To many of our members, our failure to do this in recent weeks has put at risk the moral authority of our Labour government both at home and abroad,” he wrote. “It is widely perceived that our apparent inaction has undermined international efforts to halt the violence and isolated us from key European and Muslim world allies.“The deaths of innocent women, children and men, and Israel’s latest declaration that they now intend to widen their ground offensive against Lebanon, make the case for speaking out for an immediate ceasefire even more pressing.”
He said that UNISON members the breadth of the country had contacted him to express their horror. “They spend their lives caring for others, helping the vulnerable, building safe and healthy communities. They are appalled at the scenes of despair and destruction, as entire villages and communities are destroyed.”
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that there will be no ceasefire in Lebanon until an international force is deployed in the south of the country.
About 750 people - mainly civilians - have been killed so far by Israeli action in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's health minister. A total of 54 Israelis, including at least 19 civilians, are known to have been killed by Hezbollah.
Those who can get to London on Saturday can join the national demonstration. Saturday 5 August: Assemble 12 NoonSpeakers Corner, Hyde Park, LondonMarch to Parliament Square for rally - for more details and other actions go to www.stopwar.org.uk.
You can sign a letter to Tony Blair online at the Stop the War Coalition website.

Unison decides on TUC amendments

UNISON’s TUC delegation meeting today agreed two amendments for submission to the annual meeting of the TUC in September – not including the amendment calling for an amnesty for so-called “illegal” migrant workers, which I proposed without success.

The successful amendments dealt with the dispute over the Local Government Pension Scheme and the marketisation of education. The latter amendment was not in fact available in writing before – or indeed at - the meeting, but a large majority of the delegation nevertheless felt that this was a higher priority than an amnesty for migrant workers.

The decisive argument against the amnesty proposal was probably that we could not be certain of winning the majority of votes at the Trade Union Congress. This view was put by General Secretary, Dave Prentis, who said that he could not guarantee that we would win our position at the TUC. It was reported that, based on discussions at the Scottish TUC, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), who are the movers of the motion we would have amended, would not have supported our amendment, which would therefore have been forced to a vote. Jane Carolan, Chair of UNISON’s Policy Committee, said that we did not need to confront our friends on this issue at a time when TUC policy was “inching forwards”.

In the event, the delegation meeting of 63 voting delegates voted to put in amendments on the LGPS (56 votes) and the marketisation of education (48 votes) and not the amnesty for migrant workers (10 votes). Whilst I appreciate the importance of the two issues upon which we have put amendments, I am disappointed that UNISON – for the second year in a row – has failed to put our own policy on migrant workers before the TUC.

I think that we should be more confident that a policy supported by UNISON and the TGWU could win at Congress. This is not like the debates about the Euro. There are no unions who are militantly opposed to our position, as there were over Europe. There may be unions who are less enthusiastic about the issue – but we have the largest and third largest affiliates in support of an amnesty for so-called “illegal” migrants (and the second largest affiliate is looking to merge with the third largest…) Add in the votes of the leftwing unions whose delegations could be expected to come down on the right (left) side of the argument and we could have TUC policy in line with the views of UNISON and the TGWU. This could help to build pressure on the Government to adopt a sensible and progressive approach, rather than pandering to the reactionary politics of the tabloid press.

Several speakers at the delegation meeting said that now was not the right time perhaps next year would be the right time to press this demand. I think that there is no time like the present – but if UNISON members re-elect me to the NEC I will remind those who said that this time next year! Mind you, I think some of them may have said the same thing last year… :(

LGPS - do we need a fifth option?

I’m sorry that this is such a long post – I don’t think that is good blogging practice, but this is an important issue for more than a million of us in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

UNISON activists will be aware that our application for judicial review of the detrimental changes to the LGPS (which remove the right currently enjoyed by most scheme members to retire at 60 with an unreduced pension if we have 25 years service) will be heard in mid September.

In the mean time the Government have pressed ahead with a slight extension to the protection offered to existing members (essentially protecting the over 50s and offering partial protection to those aged 46 and above)(but nothing for the rest of us!!!)

For those who have noticed that the pensions fight has sunk from the front page of the UNISON website, it is reassuring to know that Regional pension briefings are taking place – but perhaps less reassuring to hear about the content of the briefings?

I can’t claim any credit for the following information, which I have received from my friend and comrade, Emma Goodall, from UNISON’s South East Region. What follows is Emma's report;

Emma Goodall's report of the briefing

Yesterday, the South East was the first region to undergo the LGPS Briefing. This is a one-day session run by national officers where branch activists are told about the 4 options which the government are offering on the future of the LGPS. This is being rolled out across all the regions over the next few weeks. The day's agenda was as follows (this might change in other regions, but I assume it will be broadly the same):
11 - 12 Overview of the options for consultation This presentation will give you a clear overview of the negotiations and the options presented for informal consultation. We will then give you the opportunity to ask questions about the options.
12 - 12.45 The Trade Union Side Agenda During this activity we will discuss the key elements of the trade union agenda and outline arguments to back up our position.
12.45 - 1.30 Lunch
1.30 - 2.15 Option B - Getting to know the option further Option B is the closest to UNISON's view on the way forward. However, there are parts of Option B that we will seek improvements on. We will develop some ideas about how to describe this option to members, outline our view on improvements and answer their questions about its potential impact.
2.13 - 3 The Next Stage of the Campaign In this final session we will consider the next steps of the campaign. We will specifically focus on engaging members and potential members, identifying areas to organise and campaigning locally to keep the pressure up.

Firstly, four hours (which includes a 45 minute lunchbreak) isn't nearly long enough. Glyn Jenkin's overview (first item) took over an hour and a half, including questions, so the second item was reduced to under half an hour. There was no time for debate, just hurried questions answered even more hurriedly.

I said to the organiser, National Education Officer, Louise Chinnery, that the day needed to be longer to allow for proper discussion and debate, but she said it wasn't possible and Glyn would just have to stick to his hour in future. Glyn's presentation was just the right length and cutting his time will only further reduce the opportunity for questions and discussion. I strongly recommend that you push in other regions for the briefing day to run from 11 to 4 at least.

For the second item, we had to look at the following objectives, coming up with reasons why each was an important TU side issue and what our key arguments were:
· Max protection for existing LGPS members
· LGPS remain as final salary scheme
· Improving take up among low paid by graduating contributions
· Single tier scheme
· Partners pensions for all and backdated to 1972
· Equality proofing the scheme
· Improvement in death benefits
Note there is nothing about keeping the 85 year rule, or keeping contributions for the majority at 6%!

The third agenda item is the real worry. The activity's stated aims are:
· To explore option B as closest to the trade union proposal
· To outline further improvements that we are seeking to this option
And, worst of all:
· To consider how we communicate the trade union side view to members

Glyn said the timescale is now too tight for us to look at any options other than the 4 the DCLG have given us for consideration. So we are accepting the government and employers' timescale and can only pick from their options!!! The third aim suggests there is already a trade union side view. Who decided what that view is? What is the point of a consultation if the trade union side has already made its mind up? And now they want us to accept it and try to sell it to our members.

Glenn Kelly's report on Option B

For those who haven't already seen Glenn Kelly's helpful SGE report on the options, this is what he says about Option B:
"Option B - A new final salary scheme with an improved accrual rate (1/60th rather than 1/80th) and no automatic lump sum on retirement
Once again on the surface this looks good and the employers estimate that this would cost them 1.1% on the pension bill.
So where is this additional money coming from….You guessed it out of the pockets of our members.

The scrapping of the 85-year rule (with protection only for those over 50 years old) will save the employers at least 2.2% on the pension bill. If the government and employers agree to give half of those savings back into the scheme as promised you get an additional 1.1% put back into the scheme to pay for improved benefits. So the money for this improvement comes out of the pockets of those members under 50 years old. Brilliant! They make out that they are giving us something, but in reality we’re paying for it ourselves. Look out for Prescott and Co. appearing on rogue traders next week!"

They are also proposing increasing contributions, to between 6.6% and 8.1% as well as detrimental changes to ill-health. Early retirement due to redundancy is being "dealt with" separately!

Our group asked "Are any of these 4 options worth working 5 years longer?" but Glyn ducked the question by saying that it depends what sort of pension scheme you want. I strongly suspect the real answer is "NO!"

So what do we do now?

It is clearly important that activists attend their Regional Pension Briefings (details are at http://www.unison.org.uk/pensions/doc_view.asp?did=2603 )

I am convinced by Emma’s argument that whilst it may be that Option B really can be turned into a good deal for our members through negotiated improvements, we need to have a proper open debate around the issues, rather than being steamrollered into accepting a weak compromise.

The full consultation paper is here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1501206 – activists need to look at this in order to determine how we should develop an argument around a fifth option, better than those on offer from the Government, and how we prepare our members for further action, which will be needed if we are to achieve the objectives we came out on strike for in March.